Hunter Caught With Illegal Deer Blames Wife

BALDWIN, Mich. (CBS Local) — A Michigan hunter who got caught with an illegal deer blames his wife for his actions.

“The honest-to-God truth is that my wife wants deer meat and if I come home without any she’ll get really mad at me,” the hunter told Conservation Officer Josiah Killingbeck.

Killingbeck told the Cadillac News he made contact with the suspect after receiving a tip that a hunter had shot a spike horn buck near Baldwin in violation of antler point restrictions imposed to protect young deer in Lake County.

At first, the suspect denied that any deer had been killed. Then he tried to explain away the physical evidence. Killingbeck said he also observed unused deer tags in the man’s wallet.

When Killingbeck told the hunter a witness saw him shoot the deer, “the suspect hung his head and admitted to shooting a spike horn knowing it was illegal and not tagging it.”

The motive? The hunter said his wife would be “mad” if he didn’t bring home venison.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources seized the deer, hidden behind a house, and “enforcement action was taken.”